Liu Muzhi

Biography

Family Background and Early Years

Liu Muzhi came from the Liu clan of Ju County in Dongguan Commandery and claimed descent from Liu Fei, Prince Daohui of Qi of the Western Han. His family had long resided in Jingkou, present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, but by Liu Muzhi's time it had become quite poor. As a young man he loved reading and became broadly versed in the classics and histories. Jiang Ai, a member of the Jiang clan of Jiyang and then Administrator of Langya, appreciated his talents and appointed him recorder in the office of the General Who Establishes Might.

Although poor in youth, Liu Muzhi enjoyed food and drink and often went to his wife's brothers to ask for meals. They repeatedly humiliated him, but he did not appear ashamed. His wife, Lady Jiang, eventually forbade him to go. On one occasion the Jiang family held a banquet and explicitly told him not to attend, yet he went uninvited. After eating, he asked for betel nut. His brothers-in-law mocked him, saying that betel nut was used to aid digestion and asking why someone who was frequently hungry would need it. Later Lady Jiang cut off her own hair and sold it to buy wine and food to entertain her brothers on Liu Muzhi's behalf; thereafter she reportedly stopped arranging her hair before her husband. When Liu Muzhi later became Intendant of Danyang, he summoned his wife's brothers. Lady Jiang wept and bowed to apologize, but Liu Muzhi said that he had never resented them and that she need not worry. After the banquet, he ordered the kitchen to bring out a full measure of betel nut. The anecdote is used in the source to illustrate both the hardship of his early life and a personality that combined broad-mindedness with a strong memory for insult.

Following Liu Yu and Restoring Order

In 404, the third year of Yuanxing, Liu Yu, a former officer of the Northern Headquarters Army, raised troops at Jingkou against Huan Xuan, who had usurped the Jin throne. After occupying Jingkou, Liu Yu asked He Wuji whom he should appoint as recorder. He Wuji recommended Liu Muzhi. From then on Liu Muzhi entered Liu Yu's staff and became one of his core advisers. Liu Yu soon defeated Huan Xuan and captured Jiankang. Many urgent major decisions had to be made quickly, and Liu Muzhi drafted and settled them effectively. Liu Yu regarded him as a confidant and consulted him on matters large and small; Liu Muzhi in turn served with complete loyalty and concealed nothing.

At that time Eastern Jin discipline and law had become lax. Great clans and powerful local families used their influence against ordinary people, while earlier policies under Sima Yuanxian and the detailed regulations of Huan Xuan had left government confused. Liu Muzhi adjusted measures according to circumstances, and the source says that within ten days political customs changed markedly. Liu Yu also modeled strict adherence to law. For his role in defeating Huan Xuan, Liu Muzhi was enfeoffed as a Fifth-Rank Baron of Xihua County and subsequently served as an official in the Imperial Secretariat, recorder in Liu Yu's headquarters, records officer, and concurrently Administrator of Tangyi.

Helping Liu Yu Gain Central Power

In the twelfth month of 407, Wang Mi, Inspector of Yangzhou and Director of the Imperial Secretariat, died. By rank and prestige Liu Yu was a natural candidate to succeed him. In the first month of the following year, Liu Yi, unwilling to see Liu Yu enter the capital and gain direct power, proposed either appointing Xie Hun as Inspector of Yangzhou or allowing Liu Yu to hold the title remotely from Dantu while Meng Chang controlled central affairs. Liu Yi sent Pi Shen, Assistant Director of the Imperial Secretariat, to Jingkou to solicit Liu Yu's view. Pi Shen first met Liu Muzhi and explained the discussions at court. Liu Muzhi pretended to go to the latrine and secretly wrote Liu Yu a note warning him not to accept the proposal.

After meeting Pi Shen, Liu Yu summoned Liu Muzhi and asked for his reasoning. Liu Muzhi argued that since the disorders of Sima Daozi and the usurpation of Huan Xuan, the Jin mandate had already shifted. Liu Yu's achievements and prestige left him no path of retreat. Liu Yi and Meng Chang had risen alongside him from commoner status and shared in the original uprising, but were not truly submissive and would eventually struggle with him. Yangzhou was the regime's essential base and could not be entrusted to others; once surrendered, such authority would be difficult to recover. Liu Muzhi advised Liu Yu to insist that the governorship of Yangzhou and control of the central administration were matters vital to the state's foundation and should be discussed in person at court. Liu Yu followed this advice, entered the capital, and successfully became Inspector of Yangzhou and Director of the Imperial Secretariat. This gave him control of the Eastern Jin center and marked a crucial step in his political rise.

Repeatedly Governing the Rear and Managing the Court

In 409 Liu Yu launched his northern campaign against Southern Yan and Liu Muzhi accompanied him as an adviser. The following year, after Southern Yan was destroyed, Lu Xun and Xu Daofu advanced toward Jiankang while Liu Yu was absent, and Liu Muzhi again returned with the army to defend the capital. During these campaigns he remained in headquarters drafting strategy and deciding affairs. Liu Yi resented the degree of trust Liu Yu placed in him and repeatedly complained that Liu Muzhi held too much authority, but Liu Yu instead trusted him more and promoted him to a senior staff position in the central army. In 412 Liu Muzhi also became Intendant of Danyang.

That same year Liu Yu campaigned west against Liu Yi, leaving Zhuge Changmin to supervise the capital and Liu Muzhi to assist him. Zhuge knew that he had committed many illegal acts and became increasingly anxious after Liu Yi's defeat. Considering rebellion, he tested Liu Muzhi by asking why people said Liu Yu was at odds with him. Liu Muzhi reassured him that Liu Yu had entrusted his elderly mother and young brother to Zhuge's care and therefore could hardly be hostile. Zhuge hesitated, giving Liu Yu time to return rapidly to the capital and eliminate him.

In 414 Liu Muzhi was promoted to General of the Vanguard. The next year, when Liu Yu campaigned against Sima Xiuzhi, he left his younger brother Liu Daolian supervising capital affairs. Liu Muzhi became Right Director of the Department of State Affairs, controlled personnel selection, and decided virtually every matter of government left in the capital. In 416, when Liu Yu launched a major northern campaign against Later Qin, he left his heir Liu Yifu nominally in charge of the headquarters while Liu Muzhi again remained in Jiankang. Liu Muzhi became Left Director of the Department of State Affairs and simultaneously held military staff responsibilities in two commands. He directed domestic government while supplying the army abroad. Petitions, reports, visitors, and requests filled his residence. The source says that he could read legal complaints with his eyes, write replies with his hands, listen to reports with his ears, and answer visitors with his mouth at the same time, handling all four tasks without confusion.

Final Years and Death

In the ninth month of 417 Liu Yu destroyed Later Qin and occupied the Guanzhong region, intending to use it as a base for further northern campaigning. At this time an event proved fatal for Liu Muzhi. Although Liu Yu's advance forces had already taken Luoyang, the Eastern Jin court had still not granted him the Nine Bestowments. Liu Yu therefore sent Wang Hong, Senior Clerk of the Left in the Grand Commandant's office, back to Jiankang to hint that the court should confer them. Because Liu Muzhi controlled the capital administration, he believed he should have anticipated the need to arrange the honors himself. The fact that Liu Yu had to send a message from the north left him deeply ashamed and fearful. He fell ill and died at age fifty-eight.

When Liu Yu received the news in Chang'an, he grieved for several days. Feeling that the political base in the capital had lost its strongest administrator, he abandoned plans for continued northern expansion and hurried back to Pengcheng. Xu Xianzhi took over some of Liu Muzhi's rear-administration duties, but major decisions that Liu Muzhi had formerly settled independently now had to be referred to Liu Yu. Liu Yu posthumously granted Liu Muzhi the titles Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary, General of the Guards, and Holder of Office with Equal Ceremonial to the Three Excellencies; these were later changed to Palace Attendant and Minister over the Masses, and he was posthumously made Marquis of Nanchang County. In 420, after Liu Yu replaced Jin and became emperor, he promoted Liu Muzhi posthumously to Duke of Nankang Commandery and gave him the posthumous name Wenxuan. Liu Yu was recorded as saying that if Liu Muzhi had lived, he would have helped him govern the realm, and that after Liu Muzhi's death people began to treat Liu Yu lightly, illustrating the depth of his reliance on him.

Major Activities

Political Activities

Liu Muzhi's political work ran through the entire process by which Liu Yu displaced Eastern Jin and founded Liu Song. His most important contributions were helping Liu Yu seize and consolidate central authority and governing Jiankang whenever Liu Yu was away with the army. In 408 he secretly persuaded Liu Yu to reject Liu Yi's arrangements for Yangzhou, allowing Liu Yu to enter court and obtain the governorship. Thereafter Liu Yu repeatedly campaigned while leaving Liu Muzhi in charge of the capital. In 412 Liu Muzhi helped stabilize Zhuge Changmin while Liu Yu moved against him; in 415 virtually all capital affairs were decided by Liu Muzhi; and during the 416 campaign against Later Qin he directed government at home and military supply abroad.

Liu Muzhi also worked to correct what the source describes as the breakdown of law and discipline under late Eastern Jin. Powerful clans had abused influence while ordinary people lacked protection. He adjusted policy to circumstances and was credited with rapidly improving political order. The Book of Song later compared the change to replacing the lax customs of Taiyuan and Long'an with the disciplined government associated with the Jianwu and Yongping eras.

Assisting Liu Yu

Liu Yu's trust in Liu Muzhi went far beyond an ordinary relationship between ruler and minister. Although Liu Yu was often suspicious by temperament, he consulted Liu Muzhi on virtually every action. Liu Yu's handwriting was poor, and Liu Muzhi advised him to pay more attention to it and to write in very large characters, arguing that large script was both more imposing and more forgiving. Liu Yu followed the suggestion and could fill an entire sheet with only six or seven characters.

Liu Muzhi also maintained a broad network of informants and reported court and local news to Liu Yu, even including jokes and small matters heard in neighborhoods and on the roads. When mocked for reporting trivial details, he replied that with Liu Yu's intelligence such matters would eventually become known anyway, and that because he had received Liu Yu's favor he had a duty to conceal nothing. He compared this to Zhang Liao informing others of Guan Yu's intention to leave.

In recommending talent, Liu Muzhi persisted until his candidates were accepted. He said that although he could not match Xun Yu in identifying worthy men, he at least would not recommend the unworthy. The source presents this as evidence of both his standards and his tenacity.

Travels and Campaigns

Liu Muzhi's movements largely followed Liu Yu's military career. In 409 he accompanied the northern expedition against Southern Yan and the next year returned with Liu Yu to defend Jiankang against Lu Xun. During the 416 campaign against Later Qin he remained in Jiankang and did not personally go to Guanzhong. One legendary anecdote says that he once sailed at sea with Liu Yu and, during a storm, saw two white dragons moving along either side of the ship below the water. They later reached a high, wooded mountain whose scenery delighted them. The source treats the story as a legendary fragment from his early travels with Liu Yu.

Relations with Contemporaries

Liu Muzhi had a wide circle of acquaintances and was said always to have a room full of guests. Through such gatherings he gathered information about affairs throughout court and country. He and Zhu Lingshi were both skilled at correspondence. On one occasion in Liu Yu's presence they handled written replies from morning until midday: Liu Muzhi completed one hundred letters while Zhu Lingshi completed eighty, with neither neglecting his responses.

His relationship with Liu Yi was tense because Liu Yi resented the confidence Liu Yu placed in him and repeatedly warned that Liu Muzhi had too much power. Liu Yu ignored the criticism. Liu Muzhi's relationship with Zhuge Changmin was more delicate: ordered to assist Zhuge in managing the capital, Liu Muzhi reassured him when he was considering rebellion, stabilizing the situation until Liu Yu returned and killed him.

Personal Relations

Family

• Wife: Lady Jiang, daughter of Jiang Sizhi
• Eldest son: Liu Lüzhi, inherited the title and served as Gentleman-in-Attendance Outside the Regular Establishment
• Second son: Liu Shizhi, later General of the Left Guard and Administrator of Wu Commandery
• Youngest son: Liu Zhenzhi, later General Who Pacifies the North and Chancellor of Jiangxia
• Daughter: Lady Liu, married Cai You of Jiyang
• Grandsons: Liu Yong, Liu Yi, Liu Yan, Liu Yu, and Liu Pou

Ruler and Ministers

• Liu Yu: Liu Muzhi's ruler and patron; regarded him as a close confidant and indispensable aide
• Liu Yifu: Liu Yu's heir, whom Liu Muzhi was ordered to assist in supervising the capital headquarters
• Liu Daolian: Liu Yu's younger brother, who shared rear-administration duties with Liu Muzhi

Colleagues

• He Wuji: key figure who recommended Liu Muzhi to Liu Yu
• Zhu Lingshi: colleague and fellow expert in correspondence
• Xu Xianzhi: succeeded to part of Liu Muzhi's rear-administration responsibilities after his death
• Wang Hong: envoy sent by Liu Yu to hint at the Nine Bestowments; his mission indirectly triggered Liu Muzhi's shame and illness

Conflicts

• Liu Yi: rival of Liu Yu who resented Liu Muzhi's influence and repeatedly criticized him
• Zhuge Changmin: considered rebellion, was reassured and held in place by Liu Muzhi, then killed by Liu Yu

Historical Assessment

Southern Dynasties and Tang

• The Book of Song credited Liu Muzhi with helping restore law, discipline, and the proper relationship between ruler and minister after Huan Xuan's usurpation, and argued that his achievement justified his place among the founding ministers worshipped in the ancestral temple.
• Tang writer Zhu Jingze compared Liu Muzhi with Xiao He, Kou Xun, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Zhao, Wang Dao, Wang Meng, Su Chuo, Gao Jiong, and other eminent statesmen, placing him among loyal ministers who supported dynastic founders.
• Xue Ji of the Tang compared Liu Muzhi's assistance to Liu Yu with Zhang Liang's support of Liu Bang, Guo Jia's support of Cao Cao, and Chu Yuan's support of the Southern Qi founder, emphasizing his role in strategy and decisive planning.

Song and Yuan Periods

• Hong Mai of the Southern Song grouped Liu Muzhi with advisers who helped rulers overthrow previous dynasties and stressed that his contribution to Liu Yu's replacement of Jin was substantial.
• Lu You wrote that Liu Muzhi's death caused Liu Yu to abandon his northern campaign and suggested that the event changed the broader course of history.
• Hu Sansheng of the Yuan offered a more reserved view, arguing that Liu Muzhi was inferior to Xun Yu both in talent and in political judgment.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Sun Qifeng criticized figures such as Xun Yu and Liu Muzhi for initially serving ambitious strongmen without necessarily intending usurpation, yet gradually participating in actions that enabled dynastic replacement. He regarded this as a failure of the responsibilities of a great minister.

Modern Period

• Modern historian Tian Yuqing, in Aristocratic Politics of the Eastern Jin, treats Liu Muzhi as a crucial figure in Liu Yu's success, emphasizing that his administration of Jiankang and control of the rear allowed Liu Yu to campaign freely.
• Modern scholarship generally regards Liu Muzhi as one of the most important political figures of the late Eastern Jin and early Liu Song, whose administrative ability and political planning laid major foundations for Liu Yu's replacement of Jin and establishment of Song.